The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 is to be awarded to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzay for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education…. Read more
Sifisosami Dube welcomes you Welcome to the October edition of the Roadmap to Equality newsletter. October has been a hive of activity with Alliance network strengthening coalitions at country level. With 2015 around the corner, it is necessary for gender movements to strategically position themselves, and lobby for a strong post-2015 gender equality agenda. This month we focused on highlighting governance issues in the SADC region as Botswana and Mozambique have just held elections…. Read more
Alliance meetings held in Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia During the month of October, Alliance networks in Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia held validation workshops of their respective 2014 Country SADC Gender Protocol Barometers. The meetings that brought together civil society, government and academics also provided a platform for further engagements on the SADC Gender Alliance proposed targets and indicators for the post-2015 agenda…. Read more
New Constitution moves Tanzania closer to gender parity There is jubilation among women in different regions, seeing that the Draft Constitution includes a section that gives women the power to own and inherit land, just like their male counterparts. … Read more
International civil society week 2014 To celebrate South Africa’s 20th anniversary of freedom and democracy, CIVICUS and its partners will gather change makers from around the world at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg for International Civil Society Week from 19-25 November 2014…. Read more
End violence, empower women! Every year the United Nations declares the period from the 25 November, International Day for the Eradication of Violence Against Women, to the 10 December, International Human Rights Day, as the 16 days of no violence against women across the globe. Gender Links (GL) and partner organisations will implement the Sixteen Days of Activism 2014 under the banner Peace begins at home: End Violence! Empower Women!… Read more
African governments and civil society review Beijing Platform for Action The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in collaboration with UN Women regional and country offices is conducting the fourth review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) on the African continent. … Read more
African women can feed Africa African women who gathered in Morocco from 9 to 10 October 2014 for the fourth conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa with the theme “Africa Can Feed Africa Now” affirmed their commitment to ensuring that Africa feeds Africa through pragmatic gender responsive interventions to climate change. … Read more
Gender equality gains ground at the General Assembly As UN Women we were very pleased to see a dedicated goal on gender equality and women’s empowerment, which really builds on MDG3 by addressing underlying structural constraints to achieving gender equality, with strong targets on ending all forms of discrimination against women, ending violence against women and girls, and harmful practices such as early, child and forced marriage, recognition of women’s unpaid care work, and lack of access to sexual and reproductive health. … Read more
Malawi aligns national policy and strategy with the Protocol As 2015 approaches, there is a mounting global debate around the post-2015 agenda, and the need to strengthen gender provisions in the next development framework. This therefore calls for member states to equally harmonise and align all relevant documents, in order to emerge with a stronger post-2015 agenda…. Read more
South Africa: Building capacity for 2016 local elections Achieving gender equality requires women’s active participation and involvement in decision-making at all levels, starting at home and extending to the highest levels of government. Several studies have gone beyond numbers to show that women bring different approaches and perspectives to decision-making. … Read more
Botswana: Elections- Our fight is not over As Botswana went to the polls last week for the 11th National Elections, the question remains: where are the women in politics? Many women and gender activists are aware that the faces and voices of women remain underrepresented and drowned out by those of men. … Read more
Productive Resources, Climate change and Employment
Climate action now: Why there’s no time to lose Climate change will affect us all – from the wealthiest countries to the poorest, from the smallest of islands to whole continents. But its worst impact will be felt by the world’s poorest and the most vulnerable, especially poor women and girls…. Read more
Post-2015: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Too many women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are intrinsic human rights…. Read more
Mauritius: White Paper on Electoral Reform Following the success of the local elections in Mauritius, the big question in Mauritius is whether special measures will be extended to national elections in 2015. In 2014, Prime Minister, Dr. Navin Ramgoolam unveiled a draft paper on “Modernising the Electoral System” including its implications for gender equality, and invited comments from the public. … Read more
The Roadmap to Equality: Southern Africa Gender and Development Protocol is a regional e-news- letter that tracks the ratification and implementation of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. It is produced by Gender Links in partnership with the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance with support from DFID, EU and Norwegian Church Aid.
The newsletter will help track progress at a national, regional, continental and global level on gender equality.
The new and updated newsletter will focus on the SADC Gender Protocol namely Constitutional and Legal Rights; Gender and Governance; Edu- cation and Training; Economic Justice; Gender Based Violence; Health; HIV and AIDS; Peace Building and Conflict Resolution; Media; Climate Change; Implementation and the Post-2015 Gender Agenda.
It is essential that gender and women’s rights activists and governments track the impact of their work in order to measure whether or not they are making a difference. The newsletter will enable all actors to keep abreast of gender equality across the region and to push the envelope for a strong gender equality agenda globally.
Comment on Roadmap to Equality, October 2014